Locke, John Political Philosophy Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. John Locke 1. 63. Locke proposed a radical conception of political philosophy deduced from the principle of self ownership and the corollary right to own property, which in turn is based on his famous claim that a man earns ownership over a resource when he mixes his labour with it. Government, he argued, should be limited to securing the life and property of its citizens, and is only necessary because in an ideal, anarchic state of nature, various problems arise that would make life more insecure than under the protection of a minimal state. Locke is also renown for his writings on toleration in which he espoused the right to freedom of conscience and religion except when religion was deemed intolerant, and for his cogent criticism of hereditary monarchy and patriarchalism. After his death, his mature political philosophy leant support to the British Whig party and its principles, to the Age of Enlightenment, and to the development of the separation of the State and Church in the American Constitution as well as to the rise of human rights theories in the Twentieth Century. However, a closer study of any philosopher reveals aspects and depths that introductory caricatures including this one cannot portray, and while such articles seemingly present a completed sketch of all that can ever be known of a great thinker, it must always be remembered that a great thinker is rarely captured in a few pages or paragraphs by a lesser one, or one that approaches him with particular philosophical interest or bias the reader, once contented with the glosses provided here, should always return to and scrutinise Locke in the original just as an academic exposition of Beethovens Eroica symphony will always be a sallow reflection of the actual music. This article summarises the general drift of Lockes political thinking, leaving the other IEP article on Locke to examine his general philosophy and his theory of knowledge. The article touches on his biography as it relates to the development of his political thought, and it also provides an analysis of some of the issues that his philosophy raises especially with regards to the Two Treatises of Government. Locke is rightly famous for his Treatises, yet during his life he repudiated his authorship, although he subtly recommended them as essential reading in letters and thoughts on reading for gentlemen. The Treatises swiftly became a classic in political philosophy, and its popularity has remained undiminished since his time the John Locke academic industry is vibrant and broad with an academic journal John Locke Studies and books regularly coming out dealing with his philosophy. Table of Contents Reading Locke An overview of his political philosophy. Political Life Oxford Shaftesbury Locke and Shaftesbury Lockes Political Writings Oxford Writings 1. Two Tracts on Government Essays on the Law of Nature 1. Shaftesbury Era The Essay on Toleration 1. Other Political Writings Economic Writings Two Treatises First Treatise Second Treatise Analysis of Lockes Two Treatises State of Nature Reason and Violence Just War The Lockean State Property References and Further Reading. Abbreviations Used. Secondary Sources 1. Reading Locke An overview of his political philosophy. The first caveat to note is that Lockes political philosophy is divided into two discernible eras his Oxford period 1. Shaftesbury period, when he was employed by Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper later Earl of Shaftesbury from 1. Shaftesburys death. The two Lockes are somewhat distinguishable and should certainly be born in mind, even if one were to concentrate solely on his Two Treatises, and ignore his earlier thinking. Nonetheless, the Treatises, written in his later incarnation should be read not just as classics in their own right but as the mature culmination of Lockes political philosophy into an original and insightful theory of government, power, property, trust, and rights, for there are Lockean continuities in his political thinking that reach back into his earliest political sketches. Online Books, eBookseText Harrolds Classroom, Student Teacher Links. Archives and past articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly. Automatic works cited and bibliography formatting for MLA, APA and ChicagoTurabian citation styles. Now supports 7th edition of MLA. This week Amazon had its biggest shopping day ever, with the Dot, the pintsized version of the companys Echo, being the best seller of the day. While the device. For example, scriptural exegesis used to support his political ideas, and his fear of violence national and towards him and his friends, uncertainty, war, and accordingly of any doctrine or behaviour that could lead to unsettling anarchy or persecution. How To Install A Wireless Pc Card on this page. It was a fear of persecution that kept him from admitting to authorship of the Two Treatises, after all Seventeenth Century Britain certainly produced many provocative and extreme opinions, and indeed a few writers, including some close associates, were executed for their seditious thoughts. Locke retained a fear for his life long after the troubles had died down. The earlier Locke, a student and tutor at Oxford, was morally and politically conservative, Hobbesian one could say were such thoughts not so generally reflective of the post bellum times in England in which strong and stable government was manifestly preferable to the apparent anarchy of the recent Civil Wars in the British Isles 1. The mature Locke developed into a radical proponent of religious freedom, individual liberty and conscience. By no means did he become an anarchist or a thorough and consistent libertarian who decried the use of power power, he believed, is essential to the running of a peaceful commonwealth, but it must be vigorously checked and controlled, as well as used to secure national interests. His later writings are certainly in the vein of what is now termed classical liberalism upholding the sanctity of private property, self ownership, minimal government, and the innate distrust of the use of power, yet throughout his political theorising and despite the later emphasis towards inviolable rights, he remains, politically conservative, economically mercantilist, morally authoritarian, highly Christian, and generally suspicious of swathes of people who could affect the Commonwealths peace and security atheists, Quakers, Roman Catholics. Living In The Environment 18Th Edition Chapter Outlines Of The Bible' title='Living In The Environment 18Th Edition Chapter Outlines Of The Bible' />Locke also enjoyed dabbling in rationalist designs for how societies ought to be run, which is far removed from the hero of libertarian thinking of live and let live that he is sometimes held to be. For example, Locke retained an Oxford born academic scepticism of the people tinted with a sense of noblesse oblige he left money for the poor of the parishes of his birth and death well into his Shaftesbury years, but this is later admixed with his political experiences in which he gained a healthier cynicism of those who wield power and of their effects on what he increasingly believed ought to remain private and thus beyond the remit of the magistrate. Throughout Lockes writings those who would threaten or undermine government through their intolerance, leanings toward papal theocracy, or indulging in bone idleness are castigated and are to be outlawed according to his schemes inconsistencies or at least intolerances or prudential considerations linger within his general libertarian framework. Living In The Environment 18Th Edition Chapter Outlines Of The Bible' title='Living In The Environment 18Th Edition Chapter Outlines Of The Bible' />Indeed, writing in 1. Locke accepts the institution of slavery FCC and as late as 1. Two Treatises, he advises press ganging beggars into military service and that begging minors should be soundly whipped. EPL. Online Press Release Distribution Service. Questions about your PRWeb account or interested in learning more about our news services Reach out to our support team Contact information is available here.